The present invention relates to a lid feeding apparatus for automatic feeding of a lid onto an opening portion of a vessel which contains dry noodles or the like.
A known apparatus for automatic feeding of a lid onto a vessel is the one in which one lid is sucked out of numbers of lids held in a lid stocking device by a suction feeding means or the like, transferred above the vessel transported with its opening end upward by a transporting device, and fed onto the opening end by being released from suction.
In such an apparatus, the lid separated and dropped down from the suction feeding means is unlikely to be properly fed onto the opening end of the vessel.
Therefore, a configuration as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-148001 specification is known, in which a plurality of dies holding vessels on a transporting device are provided with guide members for guiding lids onto opening ends of the vessels.
The above described dies are in the form of plates having a plurality of vessel supporting holes for supporting vessels with their opening ends upward, and a plurality of guide pins as the guide members are arranged on top surfaces of the dies around the vessel supporting holes. Each guide pin is a member with a head inclined toward the vessel supporting hole and is supported by a spring arranged in the plate so that the guide pin can be sunk in the die.
Arranging these guide pins permits the lid fed above the vessel by the suction feeding means to be guided by the guide pins and properly fed onto the opening end of the vessel.
The above described technique disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-148001 specification has, however, problems in apparatus and maintenance costs, since each die requires numbers of guide pins to be arranged thereon.
Further, in the worst case, the guide pins or the springs arranged near the opening end of the uncovered vessel might drop down into the vessel.
Moreover, the above described suction feeding means is likely to suck the lid in such a manner that a center of its sucking portion is offset from a center of the lid. When the lid is fed onto the opening end of the vessel in such a condition, proper feeding of the lid may not be attained even by the guide pins provided on the dies.
The present invention is achieved in view of the above conditions and has its object to provide a lid feeding apparatus which permits reduction in apparatus and maintenance costs, as well as safe feeding of the lid onto the opening end with high accuracy, correcting positions of the lid and the vessel.
The lid feeding apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a transporting device for intermittently transporting a vessel with its opening end upward; a lid stocking device holding layers of numbers of laminar lids; a lid feeding mechanism wherein one lid is sucked out of the lid stocking device, transferred above the opening end of the vessel transported by the transporting device, and fed onto the opening end by being released from suction; wherein, near the lid stocking device, the apparatus comprises: a lid guiding portion for guiding the lid such as to be separated from the lid sucking mechanism to cover the opening end; a guide portion moving mechanism for moving the lid guiding portion to the level of the opening end of the vessel immediately before releasing suction of the lid by the lid feeding mechanism.
Further, the guide portion moving mechanism is moved using driving force of the lid feeding mechanism. In addition, the lid guiding portion is in the form of a plate provided with a guide hole having a dimension almost identical to that of the lid, the plate moving upward and downward by driving the guide portion moving mechanism. Moreover, a mechanism for correcting a guide hole position is provided so as to match a center of the guide hole with an axis of the vessel. Furthermore, in the lid feeding apparatus, a tacking device is provided so as to tack a part of the lid on the opening end, when the lid is fed onto the opening end of the vessel.